Tigers hurler and winner of the 2013 AL Cy Young award Max Scherzer told MLB Network Radio that he doesn’t want the Tigers to trade him even though he is eligible for free agency after the 2014 season. Via ESPN:

“I don’t want to be traded,” Scherzer said. “I got a great thing going in Detroit, we have a great team. I hope they don’t mess with it. I want to be a Detroit Tiger and hopefully get back to the playoffs and try to do the ultimate goal and win something for the city of Detroit.”

Scherzer also told MLB Network Radio that the two sides haven’t discussed a contract extension. MLB Trade Rumors projects Scherzer to take home $13.6 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. The 29-year-old right-hander finished the season with a 21-3 record and a 2.90 ERA in 214.1 innings of work. He also compiled a 2.83 ERA in 22.1 innings over three starts and one relief appearance in the playoffs, helping lead the Tigers to the ALCS, where they fell to the Red Sox in six games.

The Oakland Athletics ballpark saga has dragged on for years and years and years. They’ve considered San Jose, Fremont and at least three locations in Oakland as potential new ballpark sites. The whole process has lasted almost as long as the Braves and Rangers played in their old parks before building new ones.

In the past several months the Athletics’ “stay in Oakland” plan has gained momentum. At one point the club thought it had an agreement to build a new place near Peralta/Laney College in downtown Oakland. There have been hiccups with that, so two other sites — Howard Terminal, favored by city officials — and the current Oakland Coliseum site have remained in play. There are pros and cons to each of these sites, as we have discussed in the past.

One consideration not mentioned before was mentioned by team president David Kaval yesterday: sea level rise due to climate change. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Kaval mentioned twice that the Howard Terminal site would have to take into account sea-level rise and transportation concerns — and he said there have been conversations with the city and county and the Joint Powers Authority about developing the Coliseum site.

The Howard Terminal/Jack London Square area of Oakland has been identified as susceptible to dramatically increased flooding as a result of projected sea level rise due to climate change. On the other side of the bay both the San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors have had to consider sea level rise in their stadium/arena development plans. Now it’s the Athletics’ turn.

Fifteen of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams play in coastal areas and another five of them play near the Great Lakes. While some of our politicians don’t seem terribly concerned about it all, people and organizations who will have skin the game 10, 20 and 50 years from now, like the Oakland Athletics, are taking it into account.